Phò Nom to Open in CBD’s West

Chef Jerry Mai is expanding with the second outlet of her ethically sourced, Vietnamese street-food chain.

David and Jerry Mai

Photography: Dean Cambray

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David and Jerry Mai

Photography: Dean Cambray

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Phò Nom, Emporium

Photography: Dean Cambray

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Published on 20 July 2015

by Tim Grey

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In order to open a new outlet of her Vietnamese restaurant, Phò Nom, chef Jerry Mai did some research. “I’m still full from my trip to Vietnam,” she says, laughing.

So, as the builders’ work on the west-end site at 567 Collins Street is going on, Mai is developing new menu items. A breakfast offering is on the cards, with a heart-starting banh mi stuffed with pate, mayo butter and two free-range Milawa eggs. Low-carb dishes will cater to the gym nuts. Plus, there are a few meals from left field: “I had a really interesting dish which was, believe it or not, just pasta stir-fried with beef and greens,” says Mai.

A delivery service is being developed, in a “typical Vietnamese office-lunch” format.

Standards from the Emporium venue will travel to the Docklands end of Collins Street, with rice-paper rolls and pho using top-quality, sustainably produced Little Creek beef and Milawa chicken.

Mai expects Phò Nom at the new corporate and retail centre the Grid to be open in early August. In the meantime, there’s plenty of pho in Emporium.